JUNE200S
The Impact 01 the BaitiaD
RevolatloD OD the
EmaDcipatloD of Slavery
iD Jamaica
By
nave St. A. Goue, Ph.D.
Dr~ Gosse lectures in the
. Department ofHistory and
Archaeology at the
University ofthe Wes:t
Indies. He is also interimhead ofthe
Interdisciplinary Studies
Departmentat the
Caribbean"Graduate School
of Theology.
1
One of the ironies of Eric
William's·· ground breaking . work,
C8pita1i1lD'. Dd. Slavery, is ', that
racism as a feature of slave society tll
the British West Indies .has. been
relegated in favor of economic
determinism. Although some scholars
argue .thatracism is most difficult to
measure,·· plantation correspondence is
replete with racial assumptions; One
would be very surprised at ~eextent
of raCi8I comments .by the Jamaican
planters resulting from · .the Haitian
revolution.
Many of the Jamaican. plm:;te~:
. while concerned with issues of
security, were . more .·concerned ·'with
the implications of a Jamaican, society
managed by former enslaved ~cans.
They ,could not~agine''unciviIized''
Africans creating an orderly, stable
and successful society. This paper
argues that ·the unwattanted paranoia
among many of the Jamaican planters
to the Haitian revolution indirectly
contributed to further sooio- econoniic
and political decay in early ·19*
century Jamaican slave society. The
planters' hysteria and repression
towards their enslaved Africans were
raciallymotivated1and resulted in
CO/137/162;Jamaica~sjudicial system 'in the earlyl900scame under intense
scrutiny by the British authorities since there was an increase in the miscarriages
ofjustice by most planters; 1bepl.8Dter class initiated various measures to ~.
suppress enslaved Ahicans....They also harassed and deported French immigrants
and their slaves. .Such paranoia Was as a result of the Haitian revolution, As a
79
Gosse: The Haitian Revolution & the emancipation of slavery in Iamai~
their vigorous resistance and sabotage of amelioration being recommended
by the metropolitan authorities. The Iamaican planters were fearful of its
implications. Given the economic context, such' planter resistance to
amelioration was counter-productive ·to efficient' plantation management.
. Secondly, this paper refutes Eric William' s argument that tacisni was a
result of the economic forces existent in British West Indian slave society.
I will show that both racism and economics operated simultaneoUsly from
the very beginning of British West Indian slave society. thus, racial and
economic motives were not in opposition to each other but weremuttial .
partners?
'
'The1>eveloplDent olRadal Theory
The .larger European context
which the British emerged has to be
the starting point for any serious study of racism in the Americas.3 Were
the British racist in their categorization of Africans even before ihey
arrived in the New World, as hinted by William Greenr Was racism a
In examining the
by-product of slavery, as WiUiams claimed?
development of racial thought, the defmition of what is meant by 'race'
has to be first studied followed by its meaning in both ·Catholic and
Protestant' thought. When that is ' eXamined the practice. of .European
,racism can be described a progressive development. European racism
from
as
further deIllonstration of the planters' concern for tighter security they pressured
the. ,Jamaican government to transport a voluminous amount of enslaved Africans
from the island of lam8ica. It became so striking that the British authorities had to
further rebuke the Jamaican authorities.
. , .
2 See Eugene Genovese, The Political Economy ofSl(I\1ery (New York: Vintage
Books" 1965), p. 221. He argues that slavery as an'economic institution cannot be
successfully studied outside ofits political and social contexts.
3 Jmnes.sweet, "The Iberian Roots of Racist Thought" in William andMary
~erlyLIV{l997): 143~166.
, ',
.
· WilUa.m Green, "Race and Slavery: Considerations on the Williams Thesis" in
BrilishCapitallsm and Caribbean Slave (Cambridge: Gambridge University
Press, 1987), p.48.
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towards Africans started before their arrival in the Caribbean and
developed into the scientific racism of the late 19th centtJry.s
Franklin Knight argues that attitudes towards race and towards slavery
are not necessary the same. The European concept of race started as a
fonn of identification among the e~tended family, friends and members of
one's village. It then . moved onwards to the larger socj~. Thus,
Englishmen in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries thought of themselves
as a rAce· distinct from the Spanish the Portuguese and other Europeans.
Nevertheless, as the Englishmen pushed farther and farther into the wider
world and as they began to realize the diversity of the colors and
conditions of man and society, they changed their notions of race. Race
took on characteristics of color since all Europeans had similar features to '
be clas~ifi,d as white; Asians had similar features to be described as
yellow,and Africans south of the Sahara had similar features to be
The color element in race replaced the, previous
described as blac~.
..
distinctions of 'Christians' and 'Infidels,.6
Once color and culture became associated with race then the next
logical step WaS the stereotyping of cultures which eventually led to racial
discrimination. By the 16th century Europeanethnocentrisms had a
tendency to place all n'on-Europeans in a cplor .continuum: Those more
closely approximating white in appearance were regarded as more
pleasing, while those less approximating white were less pleasing.7 Even
persons such as Las Casas who fought for the defense of the Indians were
not immune from racial stereotyping.Las Casas's Historia, which
denounces the Portuguese slave raids in Africa, also contains the
description of the various gradations of captives. Las Casas writes:
hose who were reasonably white, handsome; and elegant, others less
white who seemed to be pardos (gray or dusky), and others as black as
See Frankliri Knight, The African Dimension in Latin American Societies'(New
York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1974). He mentions the impact of80cial
Darwinism as a signifi~ant factor in cementing scientific racism.
.
5
6
.
.
.
Ibid, p. 52.
.
'
.
7 Gordon Lewis, "Pro-Slavery Ideology" iD Caribbean Slavery in ihe Atlantic
World. Verene Shepherd 8I)d Hillary Beckles; eds., (Kingston: lan Randle
Pl,1blishers, 2000), p. 545.
81
Gosse: The Haitian Revolution &
~e
emancipation of slavery in Jamaica
Ethiopians, so malfonned in their face and bodies that they appeared to,
those who looked at them to be the image of another and lower
hemisphere. 8
' '
Numerous studies further show that European societies by the sixteenth
century had developed racial aSsumptions about Africans being barbarians
and being aesthetically unpleasant (ugly), in their literature.9 In addition,
influential thinkers and priests such as Spanish Juan Gines de Sepulveda,
develop~d Thomas Aquinas's 'natural theology', to argue that some men
were riaturally superior to , others in tenns of reasoning ,ability . and
leadership. Thus some races ,such as Africans were destined to be ruled
overby Europeans since. they were .far superior. ID
Portugal also presents a further example since . theywer:e the first
European country to have a significant amount of West African
immigrants by the end of the fifteenth . century .11 One of the , early
Portuguese ,stereotypes of Africa, s()uth ,of the Sahara was that , it ,was
12
occupied by ,monsters. •• ' , ~urthennore,the ,Portuguese regarded non ~
Portuguese living in their country as inferior since they were confined to
physical labor, which they view~d as demeaning. In addition, the
Portuguese believed that the culture and the morality of non-Portuguese
w~re so ,inferior that regular contact with them would result in those
cultures becolllingmorecivHized. 13
.
,
The belief that West Africans were oi-dained as slaves was not the .
general view in fifteenth century Portugal, although evidence ' does exist
that the link was already made by medieval .writers. The royal Chronicler,
Ibid.
A. J. R. Russell-Wood, in Caribbean Slavery in the Atlantic World, Verene
Shepherd ,and Hilary Beckles, eds~, (Kingston: lan Randle Publishers, 2000), p.
8
9
27.
"
,
.
'Ffanklin Knight, Th~ African Dimension. in Latin American Societies (New
York: MacmiUan Publishing Company, 1974), pp. 53-54.
..
11 A. J. R Russell-WOOd, in Caribbean Slavery in the Atlantic World, Verene
. Shepherd and Hilary Beckles, eds., (Kingston: IanRandle, 2000), p. 21. He states
that these West Africans slaves gradually supplanted Moorish slaves.
u Ib~
, .
.
.
13 Ibid, pp. 22-24.
.
10
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Gomes Eanes de Zuara, for example, argued that West Africans were the
inheritors of the curse of Ham and thus were generally condemned as
slaves. In addition, the sinful nature of many 'West Africans made them
sub~humans and generally inferior. 14 Regarding the physical appearances
of blacks, Zuara writes, "For amongst them there were some white enough,
fair to look upon and well proportioned; others were less white than
mulattoes; others again weri; as black as Ethiops and so ugly, both in
features and in body as almost to appear... the images of a lower
hemisphere".I.5
Although Zuara'sdepiction of blacks in fifteenth century Portugal
represented the exception rather than the norm, 'sixteenth century literary
works were much more judgmental of West Africans. They were
presented as devilish, their speech pattern was ridiculed, andorieparticular
writer Vincente, included a black character who wished "he was white as a
hen's egg,witha well shaped nose and a thinner lip.16 A.J.R. Russell~
Wood concludes that the doctrine surrounding the 'purity of blood' was
one of the most dangerous doctrines that the Portuguese passed on to the
Americas. Holders of public offices in both church and state had to
ensure that their blood was not tainted with that of a Jew, Moor, Morisco,
Mulatto, . or of any other infected nations. 17
This obsession among
Europeans with purity of blood was also pres~nt in the British territories in
the West lndiesand in the American north from the time of their arrival.
Mulattoes for example, were generally lumped with Africans in the slave
14 Ibid, p. 25. He made this point in his Cronicadosfeitos de Guine. He did not
attribute all blacks to such a position, as some black leaders were seen 'as
outstanding warrior leaders• .
IS Ibid, p.27.
16 Ibid.
17 Ibid, p. 29. Winthrop Jordan "Americ~ Chiaroscuro: The Status and
Definition of Mulattoes in the Bri~isb,Colonies" in Slavery in the New World,
Laura .Fonerand Eugene D.,Genovese,eds., (Englewood Cliffs: New Jersey,
1969). He argues that Portuguese and Spain developed a rigid social hierarchy
depending on the degrees of intermixture of Negro and European blood. Other
publieations with similar themes in Latin American history are Richard Fletcher,
Moorish Spain (University.of California Press, 1992); Anthony Pagden, European
Encounters in the New World, (Yale University Press, (993).
!,'
."
•
-
83
Gosse: The Haitian Revolution & the emancipation of slavery in Jamaica
codes and in statues governing the conduct of free Africans. ls On the
North American continent, the,English settlers had one word to describe
,mulattoes, while in. the British. West Indies, four different words were,
use~: mulatto, .sambo, quadroon and IIlestize. 19
These four
characterizations described not ' only the different levels of blood mixing
but also signified the distance each category was from the ideal of
whiteness.
' ,
In Jamaic~ the slave code of 1733 provided legitimacy to mulattoes
who were distanced from their African ancestry by , at least three
generations. Such mulattoes were to become English men ,free from tpe
taint of African blood. As such, they could attain,the right to vote"or poll
in ~lections if they were brought up in the Christian Religion. However,
around the same time period in Barbados~ 'the slave codes barred such
persons whose original blood was African from voting or testifying against
·
. ,
'
whites. 20
By the end of the 18th century in the British West Indies, racial
steteotyping of Africans as sub-humans by the purity of their blood was '
the norm. This level of racial stratificatjon where Africans were the least
important in the social matrix was even common amongst the more
'progressive' plant~rs; such as Bryan Edwards. Edwards was much more
tolerable of Africans gaining more privileges. Interestingly, the Jamaican
slave society had become·so rigid in terms of racial classification that even
fellow white men, especially from non-British territories, could not escape
the inferior/superior category. For example, Governor Nugent was asked
his opinion in a colonial office correspondent whether "an inferior class of
white personscouldbesettled into the population ofTrinidad".21
The classification of fellow whites from non-British territories in the
superior/inferior category demonstrates that racial theory in Jamaica was
not only based on physiognomy but was also cultural. As a result each
cultural group, despite theitphysicalfeatures,had to be aware of their
social standirig and had to comply in order that those of pure Anglo-Saxon
culture and pure blood '\yould retain their superior statui Already, the
/
Ibid,p. 190.
19 Ibid, p. 196.
20 Ibid, pp. 200-201.
'
nd
21 Colonial Office to Governor Nugent, CO/137108, vol. 2, April 2
1802, p. 42.
18
84
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high ,extent of miscegenation in Jamaican slave society was threatening the
very fabric of the social matrix.22 Governor Nugent acknowledged this by
stating that they had to facilitate the importation of European white
women, since they were'too many mulatto women in i:h.e 'island. Jamaica
inthe early 19th century ran the danger of cross-breeding'a nimerior class
,
'
ofpersons.23
The nexus between race and economics was most obvious ,as a result
, of the Haitian revolution. ' White individuals from all the various cultures
resident fu Jamaica realized that they had to unite around a kind of 'racial
contract' to protect their economic ' interests.24 " Such an ,indirect 'racial
contract' on behalf of the w~!te ~residents of Jamaica was neCessary to
sanction the continued slavery'hf:A.fricans who were at
lowest level of
the socialladder.2s By the end of the 18th century, this 'racial COlltract'
was entrenched in Jamaica, despite the attempts by the colonial .office to
introduce amelioration and t? pffer Africans further privileges., '
It is at this juncture that the Haijian revolution played a critical role in
the discourse on slavery between Jamaica and the metropolis. ' Although
the Jamaican planters stressed the need for extra secUrity to thwart any
intended rebellion, the planters feared the destruction ()fthe racial'contract
the
Governor Nugentto the Colonial Office, CO/1371108, vol.3, Dec 1st 1802, pp.
6-9. on a tour of the island he concluded that there were too many mulattoes in
22
the island.
Ibid
See Charles W. Mills. The Racial Contract (ltbaca and London:Cornell
University'Press). This theory is based on the social contract tradition that has
been central to Western political theory~ He argues that this racial coiltractis a
formal or informal agreement and was not reflective of everyone in society but
betweeil the people who really count - who were usually White. Thus, it becomes
a racial contract. , He further argues that the philosophy under-girding'such a
contract is' one that assumes that their subjects are usually second-class,'. residents
ofa state and thus has no inherent right to engage,in dialogue regarding tlle nature
of nation building. , As a result, th9se who nature has pl~cedto rule them (white
, ~pulation) have the moral obligation to prescribe the~ role (slaves) in society.
Ibid.
' ,
, 23
24
85
Gosse: The Haitian Revolution & the emancipation of slavery in Jamaica
by the. Africans. In addition, they also feared the loss of their economic
.
interests.26
This racial contract w~s not only limited to the British West Indies but
was also a. feature of slave life in the Danish .West Indies. In their sine
laws the Danes ensured that enslaved Africans were tied to the plantation
and were restricted from conducting businesses in the towns to symbolize
their divinely ordained status as manual .Iaborers?7 Most important, the
laws of 1758 demanded that EUropeans,. despite their. social. class, had. to
dress properly and· decently to differentiate them from enslaved Africans.
Europeans who could not afford the . eroper outfits at significant events
were .even given free outfits. The extent to which the authorities in the
Danish West Indies sought to unify fellow Europeans in a raCial contract
again.st Africans is further described:
...peopleofIDeans engage in the services of these poor folk [poor EuroCaribbean] and employ them on their plantations, either employing them to keep
watch on things or simply providing· them with something to do.. In this way they
. make it possible for them to earn their livelihood without having to beg, since
beggars are not tolerated. there. It is considered the greatest shame if·a white
person has to beg. 28
In addition, the type of punishment given to whites had to be different
from what was given to Africans. For example, one Richard Brown
maltreated two of his enslaved Africans to the point. that they died.
Brown, who was constantly in trouble with the .law, . was given a mild
sent~nce of one year with mild labor from the .. colonial .court
The
Governor General of the Danish West Indian colony sent the case to the
Danish Supreme Court in Denmark, since he was insistent that no white
person should be severely punished in the colony since it would jeopardize
26 See David Geggus. Haititin Revolutionary Studies (Bloomington: Indiana
..
University Press,2002), p; 24.
27 Gurtvor Sitnonsen.. '.'Skin Coloras a Tool of Regulation and Power in the
Danish West Indies in the Eighteen Century" in Journal of Caribbean History.
VoI.37,no.2, (2003),p. 262.
28 Ibid, p. 261.
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the moral and ,social standing which whites had over blacks. Incid~ntally,
the Danish Supreme Court sentenced BroWn to two years hard labor?9
As a result of this informal racial contract it is easier to understand why
the white phmters ,of Jamaica felt , that their racial cOIltract would be
shattered if they djd ,not put a stop to the amount of Haitian refugees
fleeing to Jamaica from the revolution. The Jamaican planters felt that the
high ratio of Haitian immigrants in Jamaica would chalienge their
,acknowledged social and political position. Such thinking among the
white planter class in Jamaica meant that they had to curtail the flow of the
Haitian refugees , fleeing to the island and resist metropolitan plans for
greatt(r amelioration among their enslaved , Africans.
Such planter
resistance, however, in early nineteenth century Jamaica ' had serious
implications for effective plantatiop. management.
The Haitian Revolution, and Plantation Management
In light of the economic decline in the sugar industry in early 19th
' century "Jamaica,30 plantation management necessitated ' ameliorative
measures aimed at maximizing African labor and encouraging African
entrepreneurship; In 1803, the Jamaican Assembly debated a bill proposed
by some new planters, which soughUo revolutionize African tabor. The
bill stated , that the estates should be entirely run by 'Negroes'. Thus,
plantations that had a ratio of one hundred enslaved African,S without any
white individual would be 'exempt from deficiency. The former , clause
stated that for every one hundred and fiftyNegroes,thete had to be at least
two white persons. The billwas eventually defeated,by an angry Ja.mai,c an
Assembly. One ,attorney from Westinorelandwas quite infuriated that the
proposed bill hadthe backing of the Lieutenant Governor~ He was totally
against the initiative and was ,now against the Governor, since the
, initiative,ifpassed,would ruin manyplantations.31
>
Ibid, p. 271. ',,
'
"
,
,;
One of the recentpublicatiolls highlighting early decl~ in the ~ritish West
Indi~s " is ,Selwyn Carrington' s, •The Sugar Industry and the Abolition ofthe SlilVe
Trade, 1775-1810 (Gainesville:UniversitY Press of Florida, 2002). ClUTington's
work extends the ongoing debate ,of an early or' alater decline in the British West
Indies sugar industry. '" •',,' ' ,,'
' . , ' ,', ' '
' " ' ,"
.
" "
th
31 Rodgers to Barham. MS.Clar.Dep.b. 33-38. December 15 1803.
29
30
87
Gosse: The Haitian Revolution & the emancipation of slavery in Jamaica
The proposal of a radical Deficiency Bill sigrtaled a series of
'progressive attempts · In the l~te · 18th century by planters such as ·Bryan
Edwards. Edwards accepted the reality that if Jamaica was to survive
economically in the new world of free trade, they had to practice planter
. amelioration. Thus, as early as the 1790s, Edwards advocated task work
along with the granting of financial incentives to enslaved Africans who
did extra work in their free time. 32 In addition, the Jatnaican Slave Laws
which was passed in the late 1800s were also 'progressive', in the context
of the earlier laws.
It must be stated, however, that the Jamaican planters only passed these
laws to please the authorities in London and to hinder their efforts at
abolishing the slave trade. 33 Edward's openness to amelioration was based
on the economic reality that the planters faced and nofbecausehe was in
favor of miscegenation or the building of a cohesivemulti"racial society.
As ·'progressive' as Edwards was, .he.too had a paternalistic attitude toward
Africans, since he viewed them as .childlike and impressionable. He
believed that"creolized" Africans were more civilized ·and would not rebel
against their masters, unless inspired by outside ·revolutionarieslikethe
. 'Negroes' in Haiti, whose savagery was clear for all tosee.34
In contrast to Edwards,Simon Taylor the renowned sugar tycoon,
argued vehemently against London's prescribed amelioration. Taylor
·wanted a strong military in Jamaica~ He' was convinced that if enslaved
Africans were not repressed and controlled, they would surely replicate the
Haitian revolution. He constantly argued thatJatnaica was fa.stbecoming
a Negro colony and as such it could no longer attract the caliber of white
families Who were the backbone of a stable society. Taylor writes, "From
all appearances the colony is fast becoming a Negro colony. ;.. where no
whites can live. I am so convinced of it that 1 am determined to ·quit as
32 .Bryan Edwards. The History, Civil and Commercial of the British Colonies in
the West Indies, 1793-1891, vof2(Stockdale: London, 1794),pp.lS0-1Sl.
33 .. See Heather Cateau; "Manageme~t and the Sugar Industry in the British West
Indies, 17SO-IS 10", (Ph.D. Dissertation, University of the. West Indies, 1994).
Olwyn Blouet, "Bryan Edwardsand the Haitian Revolution" in The Impact of
the Haitian Revolution in the Atlantic World, David Geggus, ed., (University of
South Carolina: Columbia, 2001), pp. 44-53. '
34
88
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. JUNE 2005
soon as ,l.possible can, and must retire to America with everythinglhave,
and let matters take their course".3S
''
Taylor was convinced that amelioration would result in Jamaica
becoming another Haiti that he advised his nephew to take his mother and
.sisters to America, especially New York. If they wanted to live in New
York, he would purchase a home there so that they could have a descent
way 'of life. He concluded that the reason the white inhabitants of St.
Dominique 'had to run to America was not just for their safety, but ,because'
they would starve to death, from the African 'savages', with whom they
would haVe hadto live.36
Taylor further lamented how a once prosperous colony, like Jamaica-,..a
haven for young white males looking for wealth-- could 'have become so"
doomed.
He stressed that if Jamaica continued to follow London's
concept of amelioration, very soon the Africans would take over Jamaica·
and he had no doubt that every white person would be butchered, as in St
. " '
"
.' ;
,Dominique.37 ,
It was conservative planters like. Taylor who wielded enonnous'
influence in the Iamaican Assembly, as acknowledged by Governor
Nugent in ,1802.38 These planters insisted that the enslaved Africans'
nature dictated that they had to be forcibly controlled; Onebookkeepei
from the New Yarmouth plantation in the parish of Vereinformed ·the,
Governor that planters all over ·the island were, extremely "irritated ' withi
him, since he was fighting for the rights of Africans . .He was playing, a
dangerous garneas the revolutionary breeze which was blowing all across
the Americas would soon result in massive bloodshed in Jamaica?9,
Having worked with the 'Negroes' for such alongtime,hecould teach,
him about the Africans' nature. -He writes:
They are a race of beings that cannot bear prosperity... any
interference of his majesty's government, they always construe for
emancipation as they have no other ideas of other intentioris.... It
Simon TayJor to Simon Richard Taylor, 120/11H (May 15 th 1800).
th
36 Ibid August 30 1806, No~ 27
"
37 Ibid.
..
"
'
th
~8 Governor Nugentto London, COl 1371108; June 28 1802. '. ,
st
39 G. Gilbert to Governor. c0/137/155, October 21 1823, p. '62.
35
89
Gosse: The Haitian Revolution & the emancipation of slavery in Jamaica
will be a lapse of ages before the Negro can even participate of the
blessings of freedom, the very name of the African, muSt cease to
exist in their memories before their custolilsare obliterateci.4o
Security'
.
.
"
,
th
'.' . Throughout the early 19 century the Jamaican. planters relied on the
institutions , of the state, .the judiciary and the . military, to . repress the
enslaved ,Africans. Such repression came.in the following forms: '.an Alien
Act. Martial Laws, a Proposed Police Bill, Illegal detention of AfriC8l1s, an
unusual ~ount of Afric'ans transported from the island ,.and a litany of
judicial cases~whichincurredthe wrath of the Colonial Authorities.
,The Assembly passed an Alien Act.in the .1790s, which was aimed at
deporting , dangerous, idle and ' uncertified Haitian '. immigrants and their
Africans.4 ! . French immigrants who did not possess a certified ticket
signed by at least two magistrates in their neighborhood, 'attesting to their
legal employment. were to ~. arreste~ and deported.
In 1799, Qoverno( . Nugentof Jamaica .was pressured by the
Asseinbly to reinforce the Alien Act. since there were too many 'idle'
Haitianimmigrantsi residing in KingSton.4Z In 1800, Governor Nugent
assured .theJamaican AsSembly that .t he · 399 French. men residing in
Kingston.were certified and posed no threat to the island, As such, they
were not in violation of the "Foreigners of Dangerous Descriptions" Act.
Nugent , further ,stated that the French men who ·, had settled in the
mountains. and ' in .the ..interior of the island working . as planters and
Qverseerswerealso certified. In addition,.all the male French slaves in the
island below twelve years of age were also accounted for}3
Ibid.
41 Aliens Deported from Jamaica since Jan lit 1823. There
24 such persons
who have been deportedasaresuhofthe Alien Act. This ,includes Louis
Lescene, who is described as Sambo and lohn Esscofiery who is described as
brown. Among the 24 persons, 3 are described as white, 3 as unknown, 6as
brown and the'remainder as black.
.
111
42 Letter Book of the Jamaican Assembly, IBIS/13,Nov19 1799, pp. 196-197. .
111
43 Governor Nugent to the JamaicaJi Assembly, 1:8/S/1/4S, Feb 6 '1800, p. S07 ..
40
are
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The AlienAct was not only a temporary measure to deport uncertified
it becam~ a regular feature of Jamaican life tbroughouttheearly
th
19 century. During the years 1823 to 1825, the R-egistration Reports list
twenty-four .additional· persons as deported under the Alien Act. Two of
the more noted French persons .of color charged under the Alien Act were
Louis Lescene and John. Escoffrey. The Jamaican government was
severely rebuked by the .Colonial Office in 1828 for the way in which they
mishandled the case.44 The Governor atthat time convicted the men using
a 'secret committee' whi~h was not properly constituted. Both men were
eventually exonerated in London and sent back to Jamaica.
.In 1802, the Jamaican Assembly proposed a Police Bill, which was
aimed at having lower class Europeans patrolling. the streets of Kingston.
The proposed bill was withdrawn a few months later after much
discussion, since the Assembly felt it would be. placing too much power in
the hands of a turbulent lower class.4s .Extra security measures .were
nevertheless the order of the day, ils 30 10ut of 100 new Haitian immigrants
were· further detained and tran~ported off the island in 1802.
During the years 1801::;03, the Jamaican government also detained
French persons of color indefinitely on prison ships. The Jamaican
Assembly even declared the country under. Martial Law and gave the
Governor sweeping powers to actdecisively.46 As a result; the Jamaican
government hung two additional suspected French conspirators47 and the
Assembly provided a sum of £20,000 to transport off the island every
French immigrant and his slave who· were not naturalized nor had
property.48
Haitian~;
The planters'paranoia for tightened security in Jamaica was legitimate,
since on one occasion "they were informed by Toussaint Overture that his
· 44
CO/137/168, Feb 18th 1828. Alien Law & Answers from Haskisson to Hibbert.
First, regarding Lescesne and Escoffery, Hibbert is told that the majesty ministers
believe that the Assembly was wrong to charge them as aliens as Haiq was a
British nation when they were born, thus, they were not aliens (p 45-46). See also
appendixes for other mis-han.dled cases.
4 Governor Nugent to the Colonial Office, C0/13711802;June 1st 1802.
46 Lt. Governor to Lord Hobart, C01137110, March 4th 1803.
47 Ibid, August 23rd 1803.
th
48 Ibid, December 19 1803.
91
Gosse: The Haitian Revolution & the emancipation of slavery in Jamaica
fellow Haitians were planning · a military expedition to ' overthrow the
British government in Jamaica.49 It is still debatable whether Toussaint
really lmew of such a plot or this was one of his 'schemes to improve
international relations with the British government. so However, the point
that must be made is that the planters' response in initiating extreme
security m~asures to stifle any form of resistance from the Haitians
continued long after the revolution no longer posed a threat. Theplanters
continued t~ display a heavy-handed approach in using the institutions of
the state to punish the Africans througltout the early 19th century; even for
minor offences. This eventually ,led to increased resistance by the
enslaved Africans and by the metropolitan a~orities in London, who
were disappointed at the slow pace of amelioration in Jamaica.
The seeming savagery of blacks butchering whites in Haiti was a
constant reminder to the planters and it colored the daily interaction
between planters and their enslaved Africans. In 1823, the Lieutenant
Governor of Jamaica was told that the House of Commons in London
demanded an explanation of the 1,392 Africans transported off the island
The Lieutenant Governor admitted that they were
from 1808-22.S1
transported for disciplinary reasons and that during his brief tenure, he had
to change the legal system where he personally began to review capital
convictions. This· had· become necessary since the Jamaican magistrates
were punishing enslaved Africans with capital convictions for even minor
offences. s2 To make matters worSe, Jamaica's judicial system had
remained ineffective since the Jamaican planters were above their own
laws (See Appendixes)•
. The planters' harshness contributed to the increase in slave rebellions.
The rebellions between the years 1800-34, increased both numerically and
~th intensity, as is seen below.
David Geggus. Haitian Revolutionary Studies (Bloomington: Indiana
UDiversity Press, 2002), p. 24.
50 Ibid.
' .
di
SI Colonial Office to Governor, CO/137/1SS, June 28 1823.
th
52 Governor to the Colonial Office, C0/137/1SS, June 28 1823.
49
92
CJET
JUNE 2005
Early 19th Century Rebellions in Jamaica
Year
1806
1807
1808
1809
1815
1819
Parish
St
George
Portland
Port
Royal
Kingston
St
Elizabeth
St
Catherine
Type
Outcome
Small
Small
2 slaves executed
?
Small
Medium
?
2 slaves hung
Medium
2 slaves convicted
Large
Maroon village destroyed
Very Large
25 slaves hung
Extremely
Large
Thousands of slaves
were involved
5
1823 Parishes
9
1831 Parishes
In concludiIig, the Haitiim revolution was the most significant
event in the late 18th and earlyi9th century. It drove the Jamaican planters
to adopt the harshest of measures to discipline and to control their enslaved
Africans. Such measures, although appearing justified at times, were more
a result of their racial image of Africans as savages and less to do With
issues of security. As the planters' harshness increased, so were the rate
and the intensity of slave rebellions.
The memory of the Haitian revolution provided the context for the
planters' continued resistance to London's attempts at amelioration. The
'African savages' had to be put in their pla~e, since the created order did
not allow for an egalitarian multi:-ethnic and multi-racial society. The
issue of race and its significance to Caribbean historiography is therefore a
significant factor in the study of plantation management. Unfortunately,
early 19th century Jamaica necessitated planter amdioration to maximize
African labor. Given the economic context of the early 19th century, 'the
planters' harsh measures motivated by racial 'fears were' 'counter-
93
Gosse: The Haitian Revolution & the emancipation of slavery in Jamaic~
productive to efficient human re~ource management and could only lead to
one eventual end -- the abolishing of slavery in 1834~
Theological Jmp6catioDS
In British West IIidian history August ·1st 'is a most significant day. One
hundred and seventy years ago, on August 1st 1834, enslaved Africans
over the age of six had their legal status changed from slaves to that of
apprentices. Exactly four years after (August 1st 1838) allappreilticesof
African origin thrc:mghout the British,' W~st Indies . were · granted full
emancipation. At last Africans who had toiled under the British tyranIiy
of slavery. in the, Caribbean for over two hundred years . vv~re now free.
These freed Africans in Jamaica celebrated their freedom by going to
special church services in droves and in celebratory dinners followed by
dances and balls.
. ,
As we celebrate our ancestors' emancipation one hundred and.sixty Six
years after.-can we in all honesty andfaimess conclude that our ancestors'
dream of a multi-racial and multi-ethnic society is fulfilled? Can we safely
say that ollrnation is color-'blind and classless and that 'political, social and
economic emancipation is practiced? · ." Is the popular saying true of
Jamaica - that the more things change the more they seem to remain the
same? Can.we boast of an excellent judicial system? Is our legal system
been revised . and re-s~ctured . to . th~ ', 'extent· that 'every single African
,. desc~ndant residtmfinJamaica: gu~teedequal rights and justice? ' We
owe it to our African descendantswhowo~~hipped . 011 August 1st 1838 not
to have other.occurrences similar io 'that bf Janice Alien ofCrawle and of
the Senseless .reprisalkillipgs .of our:own African br~thers and sisters.
We~we a debt to our African ~ce~torsto ensuretilat theinstitutioqs of
the state no longer discriminate against fellow Jamaicans basedontheir
. color, class and wealth. Our African , b~others and' sisters ' suffered too
much sO,cially and at the hand of the state for us to .cantinuepunishing the
,poor at the expenseof the rich. On the ,other hand, we must commend our
, govermilent 'for its boldstartce in helping 'Haitian . refugees and in
providillg a temporary safe have ,for,exiled .· President BeitnutdAriStide.
ll
But' we must chatlenge them to even go further andcontiriue to build an
International coalition to censor an4 to apply punitive 'measures at ' the
" United Nation:s and other such internationa1 . institutions.
pow~rful
couritries which continue to de~stllbi1ize and impoverish Haiti, primarily
'. The '.
94
CJET
JUNE 2005
because they dared to free themselves from the tyranny of slavery in 1804
oUght to be chastised. The recognition of Haiti's sovereignty is significant
as the independence of the entire Caribbean is at stake. Finally, the church
has to continue the mammoth task of remaining an agent .of change in
empowering and transforming our socio-economic and political .contexts;
in remaining a facilitator, a referee, an advocate-a critic of the powerful
and the mighty, while remaining a friend of the poor and the powerless.
APPENDIXES
Appendix. A. Injustices in the Jamaican Legal System, 1817-22
On August 24th 1821, an attorney in Clarendon castigated the
magistrates in his parish for numerous irregularities in severely
punishing a head watchman. lhe Attorney General agreed that a
proper jury was not constituted and warned the magistrates that they
would be removed if other un-constitution~l occurrences took place.
On March 20th 1817, one planter Edwatd Bolt,was convicted of
murder. It was however recommended by the jury and the Chief
Justice of Jamaica that he should be tried for manslaughter and not
murder, since he was provoked. The governor sought-the advice of the
Colonial Office.
.
On March 8th 1822, one planter, Charles Newman of Manchester,
killed his slave by punishing him with a large stick while he was in
stocks. He too disappeared from the island and charges of neglect
were brought against the coroner and the two magistrates in the Grand
Court. All three persons were released since there was not ·sufficient
evidence to have them convicted. The alleged persons had removed
the evidence.
On August 5th 1822, one planter, Thomas S.impson, was convicted
in the Cornwall Assize court for raping an infant under ten years old.
The case was sent to the crown to be decided, as it was argued that
Simpson was at times mentally deranged and, furthermore, he was
95
Gosse: The Haitian Revolution & the emancipation of slavery in Jamaica
tried by an English law, which was not applicable in the Jamaican
context.
Appendix. B. Injustices in the Jamaican Legal System,
1826-32
On August 9th 1826, one white person, Adam S. Mckay, was
convicted of murder under the 1826 law. The case was sent to the
crown and the judges asked that his sentence should be disallowed, as
slave evidence was used to have him convicted under the 1826
Jamaican laws.
On .April 22nd 1828, one fellow white planter, Henry BenjamiIl,
accused the incoming Custos or Chief Justice of Trelwany, William
Miller, for being a tyrant. .He bullied his jurors until he was told the
verdict that he wanted. The Attorney General in his investigation
agreed and stated that in his trials no proper notes were taken.
Whenever such notes were taken, they were written in pencil, and then
later transcribed.
On Dec 2nd 1830, the Custos of St Andrew was accused by a fellow
white person, W. Taylor, that they did not offer
Council of
Protection to his slave, and it resulted in her being severely beaten by
the jailor. Lord Goderich ordered that the enslaved woman be released
and he further reprimanded the magistrates for being very insensitive.
a
On May 15th 1832, Lord Goderich' again censured the magistrates and
, Custos of St Mary for their mis-handling of a murder investigation.
96